Something wicked this way comes
by RuneFeather
Summary: Hermione Granger is back in Hogwarts along with some of her old classmates for her 7th year. But Hogwarts is still not as safe as it seems. What happens when she is caught in the middle of all the danger along with a certain blond pureblood wizard? DM/HG
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first fan fiction. Dramoine, like the summary says. Its set in Hogwarts, after the war. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Hermione Granger might have been the brightest witch of all time, but when it came to dressing up for balls or parties, she had to depend upon a certain redhead to make all the right choices. And Ginny Weasley was never the type to come on time when called for. And so, three hours before she was supposed to leave for repeating her seventh year in Hogwarts which would commence with a victory ball celebrating Voldemort's defeat, Hermione was left pacing up and down in her room, cursing the youngest Weasley. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Ginny appeared, mumbling a long string of apologies for her late coming.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so SORRY!"

Hermione laughed at her friend's flustered face. After the war, the two girls had developed a strong bond of friendship and now were almost like sisters.

"It's okay, Ginny. I didn't really have much hope on you coming early." She grinned at her friend.

Ginny pulled a face at her. "I'm not thaaat late. A half an hour or so doesn't matter."

Hermione laughed. "Okay, Ginny. You're not late at all. Now can we decide what I'm supposed to wear to the ball?"

Ginny walked over to Hermione's cupboard. "Hmm…let's see."

She picked out a simple strapless black dress which constricted at the waist and puffed out to end a little above the knees.

"This one?" Hermione asked incredulously eyeing it up and down. "Isn't it a little too…simple and informal?"  
Ginny looked at her friend and grinned. "I'm not done with it. A little magic can do wonders."

She laid the dress on the bed and gave her wand a few twirls. When she was done, the dress, Hermione had to admit as she put it on, looked gorgeous.

It had shades of sea green and navy, and hugged her curves. There was a navy blue band on her waist which had a single black rose on the left. The dress then puffed out and ended mid-thigh. It also had a wave-like border. It was simply beautiful.

"You look amazing!" Ginny exclaimed, clearly pleased with her transfiguration. Hermione gave a little twirl. Ginny gave her an evil grin. "You're going to be acquiring some followers tonight Miss Granger. When I'm done with your hair, you're going to look absolutely stunning. Say goodbye to Goody-goody-two-shoes-Hermione! Now sit straight and don't move. Time to fix your hair."

After Ginny was done with Hermione's hair, she led her to a mirror.

"Look!" She exclaimed proudly. "I told you you'd look amazing!"

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror, and felt her jaw drop. She looked very different. And Hermione liked the way she looked. Her hair was wavy and curled at the end. Ginny had also added a touch of lipstick and some navy blue eye shadow. She did indeed look very pretty.

"This is amazing! Thank you so much Ginny!" She gushed. "I don't know what I would have done without you. Now what about you? We have only about an hour and a half left"

Ginny smiled. "I knew you'd like it! Don't worry about me. I'll be done in a while."

She brandished a single shouldered black dress that ended with a row of red roses mid-thigh. When Ginny put it on, she saw that it fit Ginny perfectly, clinging onto her tall thin figure in all the right places. She looked beautiful.

"You look hot!" Hermione exclaimed. "This dress is just perfect for you."

Ginny grinned at her friend. "Thanks."

She then proceeded to don on bright red lipstick and some black eye shadow. Her usually straight hair was blowdried (the magical way) and curled at the end.

With half an hour left, both girls were ready to go.

"How are we going?" asked Hermione. "The train?"

"No, silly!" said Ginny, laughing. Harry and Ron have managed to get a pair of carriages led by thestrals."

"Thestrals?" asked Hermione, horrified. "But I don't like flying!"

Ginny smiled. "Hermione Granger can hunt down horcruxes, but can't fly? You'll be sitting in the carriage behind. You won't feel a thing! Don't worry."

"We'll see. But if it's too scary, I'm going to go by the train or something."

Just then, the bell rang. Hermione and Ginny rushed down to open the door to see Harry and Ron standing outside with big grins on their faces.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione yelled, rushing to envelop her best friend and boyfriend in a big group hug. "It's been so long!"

The two boys grinned. "Yes. Yes it has." said Harry, disengaging from Hermione and giving Ginny a quick kiss.

"Shall we go, then?" asked Ron, gesturing to the two carriages. "You girls go in one, and we'll follow in the other."

"Okay!" said Ginny happily, still blushing from the kiss Harry had bestowed upon her.

The two girls got into a carriage and off they went.

It was time to return to Hogwarts.

**Phew! So that was my first chapter. How was it? Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so the second chapter. I'm warning you guys beforehand, Ron might be a little out of character, but this is Dramione, so that means that Ron will have to be out of the equation. **

**Don't judge me wrong, I totally love Ron, but this is kinda essential. **

****

**Hope you like it!**

**Here goes…**

Hermione looked out from the window and caught her breath. She could see Hogwarts, fully restored to its original condition, as magnificent as ever. It looked even better from above. She felt flutter in the stomach, and wasn't sure whether it was because of excitement to come back, are because of the reminiscent images that flooded her head- all the good times they had had, the crazy adventures they'd undertaken, the number of times she'd run to the library, the stupid arguments they'd had, the Battle, the people she'd seen dying, especially Fred….'Stop it, Hermione.' She chided herself. 'Voldemort's gone. It's all over. Don't think about the past. Its OVER!'

"Hermione?" Ginny's soft voice cut across her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. "We're here. Come on, let's go!"

Hermione looked at her and realized that she too had been reminiscing the times that she had lived through.

The two girls got out of the carriage only to be greeted by Harry and Ron.

"Shall we?" asked Harry, extending his arm to Ginny.

Ron, however, just said "Come on, let's go!" and marched off to the castle without so much so of a backward glance.

Hermione looked at Ginny who just shrugged and said "He's probably just hungry."

They walked towards the castle in silence, which was only broken by the flapping of wings of some birds returning late to their perches.

It was nearing 7.30 now and Hogwarts had been magically lit up, and looked magnificent.

The Great Hall had been restored to its original status and had been prettied up for the occasion. Tiny balls of blue light hung around in the air, and the hall had been decorated to perfection.

As she entered the Great Hall, she stopped dead in tracks and let out an audible gasp. "Wow." she heard Ginny whisper, and turned around to see her awe-struck expression mirrored on Ginny's face. Harry was gazing around too, apparently unable to speak. But when she looked at Ron, she saw that he was gazing avidly at a group of people, and turned away when she caught him looking.

'_That's weird.' _She thought. '_Ron's been acting strange since I saw him. He didn't even greet me properly! I wonder what's wrong with him..'_

"WON-WON!" she heard someone yell. She turned to see Lavender Brown, wearing a bright red dress, running towards Ron, with a big smile on her face.

She turned to Ron, eyes narrowed, to demand an explanation, only to find that Ron was staring at Lavender.

"Lavender! I was looking all over for you!" he said as he scooped her into his arms and kissed her passionately.

'_Well, that explains the weird behavior.' _ Thought Hermione, as tears started rolling down her cheeks. She felt unwanted. She felt lonely. As if someone had just slapped her hard. She felt terrible. She wanted nothing but to get out of the place.

Ron turned around with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Hermione, I…."

"Save it, Ron. I don't want to hear. We're done. You're perfectly free to snog anyone you like. Have fun." And with that Hermione fled the Great Hall, into the dark corridors of the school, without any idea of where she was going.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed as she bumped hard into someone, and fell down.

"Watch where you're going!" exclaimed the deep, male voice of the person she had bumped into, as he got up. "Granger?" He asked. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Malfoy." She grumbled.

He didn't say anything, but held out a hand. "Get up." He said.

Hermione stared at his hand as if it was a blast-ended skrewt.

"But….wont touching mudbloods uhh…taint your blood?" She asked, bewildered at the youngest Malfoy's change of attitude.

Draco's eyes darkened at the word 'mudblood'. "People change, Granger. And after seven years of living life according to my father's wishes and opinions, I decided to make my own opinions about people. And that includes being civil to everyone." He said.

Hermione's eyes widened at his reply. Who'd have thought Draco Malfoy could turn over a new leaf?

She took his hand and he pulled her up. He was surprisingly strong, and she could smell his scent, for she was so close to him. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his, and she felt a tingle run through her. He was so ridiculously handsome, she realized. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, they both heard the shuffing of footsteps heading towards them. Draco pulled her into the nearest empty classroom.

Her face was one of alarm, and she saw that so was Draco's. The footsteps stopped, and they heard a soft female voice say "Its time. Let it begin."

Hermione clutched Draco's hand tightly and looked at him, puzzled. What on earth did that mean? And who was speaking?

And then, suddenly, they could'nt see anything, for their eyes were blinded by a bright flash of light, and when they finally could see, the wall of the corridor had the imprint of a yellow dark mark.

**Second Chapter done! Yay! And Draco's arrived! And there starts the evil proceedings. *Muhahahaha!* **

**What's happening at Hogwarts? **

**The third chapter will be up soon… And hope you enjoyed. xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**BookwormGirl97: Thank you. :) Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

**Littlegirlwarrior: I got inspired by the song, the one they sing in their 3****rd**** year. :D**

**Hope you like the story as much as you like the title!**

**And also, thanks to littlegirlwarrior, BookwormGirl97, hguy13, and Bookz24 for adding this tory to your story alerts and favorite story lists. **

**THIRD CHAPTER! The second had a little bit of dramoine….did anyone else feels the sparks? (: **

**Okay, so for the story's sake, let's just assume Draco's Dark Mark disappeared with Voldemorts downfall. **

**Here we go…**

Hermione stood there, clutching Draco's hand, her anger and annoyance at Ron long forgotten. What was happening at Hogwarts? The war was over, and all evil had been decimated, right? So why on earth was there a dark mark on the wall opposite?

She looked over at Draco, whose face was pale and he looked horrified.

"No." he whispered, his voice barely audible. "It can't be possible. Everything's over."

"Shhh." She gestured. That woman, whoever she is, hasn't gone yet."

Then, as if on cue, the footsteps receded, and they heard the crack of disapparation. Whoever had been there was gone. Hermione and Draco stepped out of the classroom cautiously, and walked over to the wall.

"Somebody needs to go call McGonagall." said Hermione.

"I'll go" said Draco quietly, and walked off swiftly in the direction of the new headmistress' office.

Hermione looked around, finally taking in her surroundings. She realized she was on the 6th floor, in a newly constructed corridor which hadn't been there before.

_There's Dark Mark on the wall of a newly constructed corridor. How does that make any sense? And Voldemort surely is dead, so why is there a dark mark? But aren't Dark Marks black, or green? This one's yellow. A pale shade of the color. _

She walked over to the marking on the wall.

_Wait…..it's not exactly the same as the Dark Mark! There's a sword sticking out of the snake, and there's a RL next to the mark! RL….what could it stand for? A former death eater? First day at Hogwarts, and there's already so much happening! And Malfoy….has he really changed for good? He seems like it._

As her thoughts turned to Malfoy, she couldn't help thinking about how good he looked. She'd never paid attention to his looks before, because of all the evil she associated him with, and the fact that she had hated him. She still didn't like him, she told herself. She barely knew the boy, and now that he'd claimed he'd changed, he was a total stranger to her. Was he actually going to change from the arrogant, rude, snobby ferret she'd known? Only time would tell.

She heard footsteps behind her and she turned around, to see two ignited wands. "Professor Mcgonagall?" she said.

"Miss Granger?" came the voice of her old transfiguration professor.

"Good to see you after so long!" she said, unable to hide the happiness out of her voice, despite their current situation.

"Yes, good to see you too, dear. Now what's going on here?" came the reply.

"Well, we were uhh…walking along this corridor…." Started Hermione, unable to explain that she was running away from the ball.

"Granger and I accidentally met here, Professor. And then we heard the shuffling of footsteps, and a woman's voice said 'Its it begin' and then there was a flash of bright light and the Dark Mark appeared." Said Draco, cutting across Hermione's stuttering.

"It's not the Dark Mark!" said Hermione excitedly, and put forth her findings.

"Good job, Miss Granger. That was good observation." said McGonagall, clearly impressed. Hermione beamed.

Her expression changed to one of seriousness. She turned around and said "Muffliato!" and turned to the two students.

"Now listen to me carefully, both of you. This is very serious. Who has done this, and why, we do not know. Telling the students and the rest of the staff would only initiate the spread of panic among them. Whoever cast the spell which made this mark has obviously not known that you two were there. Hence this must remain a secret between the two of you. Do not tell anyone, not ever Potter, Miss Granger. The two of you are one of the best in Hogwarts, and hence, I'd like to ask you to assist me in finding out who is behind this before anything else happens. Do you agree?"

Both of them nodded.

"Very well, then. I shall try to remove this mark, but before that, we shall take a picture of it. Accio Camera!" a camera came zooming out of nowhere and Prof. McGonagall caught it expertly, and took a few pictures of the mark. She gave one copy to Draco and one to Hermione.

"I trust both of you to keep this safe." She said. "Now, you may go back to the ball, or if you are exhausted by today's events, you are permitted to go back to your dormitories. I will be going back to the ball now. Remember, do NOT tell anyone."

"Yes, Professor." they said.

Hermione watched Prof. McGonagall disappear in the depths of the corridor in front of them, and turned around. Draco was still standing there, looking at her. "Well? Aren't you going too?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No."

She waited for him to expand on his reply, and when he didn't, said "Okay, see you later then." and turned to walk back to her dorm.

"Hey Granger." Came his voice from behind. She turned around. "Yeah, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Why were you on this corridor anyways?" he asked.

The question sent her mind whirling. She couldn't possibly tell HIM why, could she? But on the other hand, she really needed to tell someone. But it could be anyone else, why HIM? Just as she decided to say nothing, he said quietly, "It was Weasley, wasn't it? He was probably snogging someone else. Right?"

She looked at him, open mouthed. How could he possibly know?

As if reading her mind, he said "I thought I saw you crying when you bumped into me. And I heard that girl…what her name? uhh….Lavender yell Won- Won or something like that…."

"Oh" said Hermione, shocked.

"You know what? I'm just saying...from an outsider's view, He'snot worth it."

"Um…thanks Malfoy, that's really nice of you." She replied, stunned as what he said seeped into her brain. "Well….Goodnight then." She said tentatively, as she turned to go back to her dorm for the second time.

"And Granger?" said Draco, causing her to turn back again.

"What?" she asked, a little irritated.

"You look very pretty tonight. Good night to you too." And with those parting words, he disappeared into the corridor, darkness enveloping him as he walked further away, leaving a very surprised Hermione Granger behind.

And as Hermione got into bed, Draco's last words were reverberating in her mind and Hermione fell asleep with a small smile on her lips.

**Yay! Chapter 3 done! :D  
And it was a 1000 words! Phew! **

**Next chapter will be up soon! Please Review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Any guesses for RL? :D**

**Okay so the fourth chapter! :D I'd like to thank pandamiko, pinkcrazyness, potterhead0013 and pucksprincess22, for adding this story to their favorite story list and to their story alerts. **

**And littlegirlwarrior: You're welcome :) Oh, and nice story!**

**pinkcrazyness: thank you!**

**AnonAg: Thanks. And Im trying to update every two days, cuz I have hols right now…..and since I have most of the story shaped out in my head, so once in two days seems like it. **

**BoomwormGirl97: Keep guessing. :D **

Draco woke up the next morning with a frown on his face. He'd acted so idiotic the previous day. Complimenting her just because she was all dressed up. Not that she didn't look pretty otherwise. Now she would probably think he was one of the shallow kind. He didn't know why he wanted to talk to her, to get to know more about her. He'd always felt that there was more to what he'd been taught to perceive her as, more to the bookish mudblood he'd thought she was. And so, after the war, he'd convinced himself to go and talk to her. But there was no time, she'd always been surrounded by Weasel and Scarhead. No, he told himself, its Weasley and Potter. Of late, he'd been forcing himself to be civil to everyone, especially the trio of people who he'd been tormenting for six years. And so, when he found no chance to talk to her just after the war ended, he decided that he would write her a letter. But he kept on putting it off, in fear of what her reply would be. And so, when he saw her running off in the ball, he followed her. And when he figured out she was going to the sixth floor, he went the other way. But what happened after was totally unplanned. It still boggled him. Who was RL? And why were they doing this? Wasn't the evil reign of the Dark Lord over? And as much as he hated to admit it, he was scared. After all those days locked up in the Manor with Voldemort lurking around, fear had forced its way into him, and fear of paranoia enveloped him. He wanted nothing more than the war to end, and he'd wished with all his heart that he wasn't a Malfoy. But soon after the war had ended, he'd reverted back to his normal self, minus the arrogance. His father, however, wasn't so fortunate, for the fear had driven him mad, and he was in , where Draco believed he would have to stay forever. He liked it though, without his father. Him and his mother and led a fairly comfortable life, without being surrounded by stereotypes, and had established a good name for the Malfoys. Not that everyone thought that he'd changed, especially not Granger. He saw the shock, and was it…fear? in her eyes when he'd extended his hand out to her. Though she did have all the right to feel so, after all those years of torcher he'd put her through. And he was determined to prove to her his change in behavior. God, what was happening to him? If he'd told himself that he wanted to prove himself to Granger a few years back, he was sure he would have called himself mental, and probably got himself checked. The war has completely changed him. 'Wow' he thought, as he walked down to his classes. 'Who would have known Draco Malfoy had a soft side?' he smiled to himself. There was a small red head, probably second-year, who was walking towards him, when she suddenly dropped the pair of bronze scales she was holding. He bent to retrieve it, picked it up and handed it back to her. The small girl looked terrified as she muttered "Thanks" and walked off very fast. He grimaced, people still refused to believe that he had changed.

"Wow. Who knew Malfoy had a good side to him?" came a voice from behind.

Draco turned and found himself face to face with Harry Potter.

"Ever heard of turning over a new leaf, Potter?" he asked, unable to keep a little malice out of his voice, for he still found himself slightly detesting The Boy Who Lived.

Harry looked genuinely shocked. "People did tell me you had changed, but I didn't believe it. I'm surprised."

"I don't need your approval if I want to change myself, Potter." His face contorted as he realized he was still being a little rude. He took a deep breath. "I….uh…thanks." he muttered.

Harry grinned. Draco Malfoy was having a civil conversation with him! What next? Flying pigs?

"And anyways, what are you doing here without Weasel…I mean Weasley and Granger?" Draco's voice cut across his fantasies about pigs with big fat wings, gliding in the sky.

"Uhh..Ron's…already gone to breakfast and Hermione's still in the common room." He stuttered. Why was he giving Malfoy an explanation? And since when did he care?

"Oh." said Draco, who was obviously struggling to say something.

"Whats up, Malfoy? Spit it out." Said Harry.

"HARRY!" came a shrill voice from behind, and the two boys looked back to see Hermione, rushing towards them, hair all messed up and eyes big and red and holding a heavy bag in her hand.

"Hermione!" said Harry, looking concernedly at the shabby state Hermione was in. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"Well obviously not, look at the state of her!" drawled Malfoy from behind.

"Way to go stating the obvious, Malfoy." Said Harry.

Draco shrugged. "Don't blame me, you asked."

Hermione stopped as she reached the pair of them.

"Oh erm…Hello Malfoy." said Hermione, and turned back to Harry. "I'm okay I guess…It'll take a while to get over…umm…you know…" she said, breaking off awkwardly, glancing at Draco.

"Oh, okay, I'll go." Said Draco, sensing that he was unwanted.

"No!" said Harry. "It's okay." And turning to Hermione he said "Well good luck with that. I'm sorry for you. Do you want me to go talk to him?"

"NO!" yelled Hermione looking positively alarmed at the prospect. "It's okay. And anyways, do you realize it's time for class? We have charms now! We should go!"

Harry smiled, this was the Hermione he knew. He turned to Draco. "Come on."

Hermione looked at the pair of them, bewildered. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were being friendly? Wow.

The three of them walked to Charms together. When they entered, Harry zoomed off to sit with Ginny, and Hermione looked around for a place to sit and saw that there were only two left. She looked at Draco who shrugged. "We got not choice left." He said and slid into the seat and patted the one next to him.

Hermione sat down. How odd they would look to the others! She turned around and saw that half the class was looking at the pair of them, confused. And Ron was positively glaring. She giggled at his expression.

"What's so funny?" asked Draco.

She motioned towards the furious redhead, and Draco grinned back at her once he saw Ron.

Just then, Professor Flitwick entered. "Welcome back, children!" he said in his small squeaky voice. Hermione smiled, it was going to be one long day.

**So, how'd you all like it till now? Was Draco a little too OOC? I personally think he underwent drastic change after the war. Don't worry, I'll make sure he's still very Slytherin-y! Please leave your thoughts on this chapter! Press the review button!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Im soo sorry for the delay! I was on a small vacation and just got back. So, without further ado, the fifth chapter. And thank you all fot those lovely reviews! And for adding this story to your story alerts and favorite stories! So, Here goes! **

Alyssa paced around the tent. She'd been walking around it for hours. It was almost time for part two to start. But The Boss hadn't called her yet. She hadn't seen him for a whole day, the last time being when he congratulated her for putting up the Mark. Surely someone would have seen it by now and raised alarm, making way for confusion? She smiled, thinking of all the chaos they were going to create.

She relished the fact that evil was going to reenter the world, taking it by surprise, like a sudden tornado gulping up everything in its way. She had been sorely disappointed when Voldemort had died, for she was looking forward to the demolition. For weeks, she'd tried to think of plans, none of them that would work. And then…._he_ had come.

He'd promised her so much, and had cajoled her into helping him carry out his plans which, she had to admit, were the true mark of a genius. She'd never thought that he'd had the brains to mastermind such a brilliant plan, especially due to the fact that he was continually oppressed by the rest of the Death Eaters. But now, he was beginning to show his true genius.

He'd gathered a small group of supporters for his plan, some of the leftover Death Eaters who'd went into hiding, and imperio-d a few people into submission. Soon they would have a large number of followers, she thought. 'And then, we will be invincible.' She smiled.

Her speculations into the future were cut short when Amycus Carrow poked his head into the tent. "The Boss calls you." He grunted, and disappeared. She took a deep breath and walked out, and went to meet the boss. She put her head into his tent.

"You called?" she asked.

He nodded. "Come in." he said in his deep gravelly voice. She walked tentatively into the tent.

He looked different, she noticed. More tired, and there were circles under his eyes. But there was a steely, evil determination in those eyes of his which emitted a sort of radiance which could intimidate even the strongest and boldest of people.

"It's time." He said.

She nodded. "The vial?" she asked.

He handed over a small conical bottle which contained a purplish liquid and she opened it and let a drop of the liquid fall into her mouth. It was extremely necessary, for it was this liquid which allowed her to bypass Hogwarts' security system.

She smiled a small confident smile before dissapparating on the spot.

She apparated into Hogwarts' big lawns and stepped silently in one of its long deserted corridors. It was still mid-morning, but everyone was in class or the staff room. She made her way, unseen, into the second floor corridor, where the abandoned girls' bathroom was located.

She looked around, making sure no one was there, and pulled her wand out. Muttering an incantation under her breath, she waved her wand in a circular path, leaving a stream of yellow and red sparks behind. The bathroom suddenly glowed yellow and grew a little hotter. And then it was all gone, and everything looked smiled, satisfied, and walked out.

Making sure no one was there, she then proceeded towards the fifth floor. Stopping in front of the door of a unused classroom, she drew her wand out for the second time and drew a small black circle on it which disappeared once it touched the door. The door glowed red for a moment, and then all was still and unchanging again.

She stepped back, and surveyed the door for a minute, then turned on the spot to disapparate, and while doing so, a small piece of parchment fell out of her robes.

Not noticing this, Alyssa's stature disappeared, accompanied by the crack of disapparation.

**Oooh. Some mystery now. :D Sorry its a little short.**

**And a little more of RL…..how was it? **

**Keep reading, the next chapter's up!**


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione Granger's first charms class of the year was normal, or as normal as it could be with Draco Malfoy sitting next to her. She'd been fidgeting all morning, obviously bothered by sitting next to him and he was sitting next to her, acting as if nothing was awkward, ignoring all the glances people sent at him. She heard him smirk and glanced at him. Yes, the git was positively enjoying watching her wriggle in her seat.

"What, Malfoy?" she asked.

"You look bothered by something." He replied, still smirking.

She glared at him and went back to practicing the Distinguishing charm Professor Flitwick had set them to. It would distinguish one particular item from another and also separate out the components. It wasn't exactly difficult, but she was having a hard time concentrating thanks to a particular Malfoy sitting next to her. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and her annoyance with him was replaced by admiration. Why did he have to be so good looking? Not like she cared. She was definitely not going to fall for him just because he looked so good. Fat chance, that was.

"Why are you looking at me?" he asked jolting her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not! I was just thinking." Replied Hermione.

"About me?" he asked, smirking.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure." She drawled sarcastically. "I've got nothing else to do."

Still smirking, said "And hence you find yourself having problems concentrating today."

"How is that anything to do with you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I seem to have that effect on any girl in a 20-mile radius around me."

"That's modest." She said and resumed practicing.

He smirked again. She turned to him. "What happened? You seem to have that smirk stuck on your face today." She said, exasperated at his continuous smirking. Merlin, this boy was irritating.

"Why, do you find it irresistible?" he asked.

"Yeah, irresistible enough to feel like slapping it off your face." She grumbled back. "Now shut up, and let me practice this."

"Ooh, having trouble perfecting the charm? Maybe I could help you. I always see the need to extending a helping hand to less-able students." He said.

"Shut Up Malfoy!" she almost yelled. "You're so annoying! You may have claimed that you've changed, but you're still as irritating and obnoxious as ever!"

"You…" she started, but trailed off as she looked at Draco's face. He had a somewhat amused expression and looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"God, Granger, you're so easy to wind up!" he said, laughing loudly now. "And you should know, it's extremely amusing to watch you yell. I pity Potter now. He must've had a hard time at school with you around." He smirked at her yet another time.

Harry, who was sitting close to them, laughed, but quieted when Hermione glared at him.

She huffed at Draco and went back to work. She was going to ignore the idiot now. She could do it. She took a deep breath and concentrated on the task at hand. She raised her hand and opened her mouth to say the incantation. And then she heard it. They all heard it. A loud boom resounded throughout the second floor and the building shook violently for a moment or two.

Hermione looked at Draco, both of them thinking the same thing. It was surely another attack. She clutched at Draco's hand instinctively, needing some support. What was happening to Hogwarts? She fervently hoped no one had been harmed.

Just then, the door opened and Professor McGonagall entered. Seeing her, a wave of relief washed over Hermione. She walked to the middle class and began to address them, her loud voice resounding through the room. "I request all of you to go back to your dormitories. There has been a small explosion on the second floor, nothing to worry about, I expect it's just a malfunctioning in the Girls bathroom, but nevertheless, we must be sure nothing else has happened. Please form a line and walk out."

The whole class stood up and made to get up. Professor McGonagall motioned to Draco and Hermione for them to stay back, and the rest of the class filed out, leaving the three of them behind.

"Come with me." She told them, and they followed her up to the fifth floor, watching all the students retreat to their dormitories as they went up the stairs. She led them towards an empty classroom, but suddenly stopped. Katie Bell was lying on the floor, rigid. And her left hand had turned into what seemed like stone.

**There you go! Hope you liked it. 6 chapters done, and more to come! Go on, review and tell me what you think. (:**


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